Softball Dads-How is your league set up?

[tkemo]

Our 10 and under league didn't have enough coaches and there would have been 16/17 girls on a team. My wife played and wanted to coach, so I'm coaching now.

Coaches are allowed to hand pick their teams in the off season. One team turns in their hand picked roster while the rest draw for the kids that weren't picked. The result is a team of the 14 best girls that started practicing in December winning every game 15-0 in three innings.

We have 14 girls, 7 of which couldn't throw or catch the first day of practice. We had to tell one girl not to stand on the plate while batting. When a sub came off the bench slap hitting for them I about blew a gasket.

This set up is horrible for every girl involved. The only person getting anything out of it is the daddy of the stacked team. His girls have no competition, and the rest don't have a chance. It's not that I want to win the league. It just makes me furious to see how far our girls have come only to feel humiliated.

Are other leagues set up this way? What are your thoughts?

[Vols520]

How is that even fun for the good team?

[utvolpj]

tell Griff that the girls aren't learning anything positive

I've coached quite a few youth teams and have never seen a league done that way.

[tkemo]

I was in shock to find out its run this way. We helped a 12-u team last year and the cops had to come. The president was about to get whipped by a couple daddy's on the crappy team demanding that they regroup the teams mid season.

I know its not fun for the good team either. This a-hole is screamin at them so bad its messing our girls up. They had a 30 minute meeting after the game with achievement test this week. Maybe think about the girls just a little bit at some point.

We play another crappy team tonight, it should go a little better.

[MSUDuo]

Not a softball Dad yet but played enough little league baseball to know that ain't right. Something needs to be said in the offseason.

I was always a part of a league that "redrafted" teams every summer. Got to know more kids and make more friends and in turn played more positions because every team was different each summer.

[tkemo]

Originally Posted by MSUDuo

Not a softball Dad yet but played enough little league baseball to know that ain't right. Something needs to be said in the offseason.

I was always a part of a league that "redrafted" teams every summer. Got to know more kids and make more friends and in turn played more positions because every team was different each summer.

My little league stayed together from 9-12. The coaches got their kids then they had tryouts and a draft. People could pull some bs gettin a kids dad to coach but that doesn't ruin the league.

I'm thinking about getting a petition together to change the rules. I know about 2/3 of the parents over there are in a similar situation and only 6-7 dads would really be opposed to it. Too bad they're board members and the "player agent."